On October 12, ASCO President Bruce E. Johnson, MD, FASCO, issued the following statement:

The Trump administration's move to expand the rights of employers to opt out of the requirement for contraceptive coverage would have unexpected and deleterious consequences for patients of childbearing age with cancer. Women of childbearing age with cancer and their male partners are advised as a part of standard oncology care to practice contraception—considered as a preventive service under the Affordable Care Act—to reduce the chances of miscarriages and birth defects.

If this rule is implemented as announced, not only would it discourage a necessary part of cancer care, the new policy would also add to the extreme financial burden already faced by many people with cancer who would have to cover the cost of contraception recommended by their doctors.